Hey guys, I hope you enjoy this update! Just to let you know, where I have this story going, I had this planned out for two months. So when I tell you I called it, I called it! (You'll see what I'm referring to next chapter) Sorry for the lateness, I had to deal with the wake and the funeral and work has been hell, but I will be posting next chapter, definitely in the next couple of weeks. As always, reviews are appreciated and loved!

Chapter Nine

Fitz sat as his desk, working on a few different caseloads. He looked at his watch, knowing that Olivia would be calling for their lunch date in about five minutes. After the morning that he had, he needed nothing more than to hear Olivia's voice. At that moment, his intercom beeped.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Grant, I have a visitor here for you."

Fitz sighed, thinking that Mrs. Hoffman could not have picked a worse time to show up at his office. "Send them in, Lauren."

Fitz stood up, ready to greet Mrs. Hoffman, when his father walked into his office. He stopped in place, staring at the man who raised him. There was an unspoken tension between the two men, and neither of them were addressing it. Big Jerry cleared his throat, walking up to the desk.

"Son," he extended his hand.

"Dad." Fitz stated, sitting back down, ignoring his father's hand. He didn't know what he wanted, but there was always a purpose to his father's visits. And no matter what, Fitz wasn't going to let his guard down. Not since he found out that his father hired his navy buddy to date the love of his life. He always had a feeling that his father was behind their breakup, he just could never prove it. Until now.

"I'll make this short and to the point, then. You and Olivia need to end things, and you need to get back with Mellie. If you want to have any chance of running for governor, hell, even one day President of the United States, you need Mellie at your side. How would it look if a Republican was married to a Democrat?"

"Olivia is apolitical. She would do whatever it would take to make sure I win. There's no doubt in my mind. And let me tell you something else, whatever plan you, Melody, and Jake Ballard have going on, we want no part of it. If you want Mellie to be a governor's wife, then your best bet is having Jake Ballard run for office."

The two men stared down one another. Neither was going to budge. Big Jerry chuckled humorlessly, a smile appearing on his face. "Oh, trust me. You'll be back with Mellie, one way or another. You have a good rest of the day, Governor Grant."

Big Jerry exited the office, giving Fitz' secretary a once over, before heading to the elevator. Fitz put his head in his hands, sighing loudly. He didn't know what his father had planned. One thing about his old man, was that he was cunning, and conniving. And he was honest to god worried about what he might do to Olivia. Lauren's voice appeared on the intercom again.

"Mr. Grant, you have another visitor."

"Tell them I'm not in."

"But Mr. Grant I thi-"

Fitz lost his temper, raising his voice. "I SAID I'M NOT IN MY OFFICE."

At that moment, Olivia walked through the door. She was wearing his favorite shade of blue, her hair down, styled so that her bangs swooped over one side of her face. The look on her face, however, melted through his anger. She looked hurt and shocked, not understanding why he wouldn't want to see her.

He sighed, looking at her. "Hi."

"Hi," she whispered. "Is this a bad time? I can come back I jus-"

"No! No, it's perfect timing, I'm sorry. I take it you're the reason why my meetings were cancelled and I was being held hostage in my office?"

"I wanted to surprise you. I'm sorry, I'm just gonna go." She turned to walk out of the office but he ran from behind the desk, and wrapped his arms around her waist. He breathed in her scent, his head resting ontop of hers. He moved his mouth down to her ear, speaking softly. "I'm sorry, Livvie. I'm extremely happy that you're here. I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of the day, and the rest of my life with you."

He took her hand, walking back behind the desk, before sitting down, pulling her down ontop of his lap. He held her, taking in the moment. His father was wrong; they could do this. They could and would, live in the governor's mansion, campaign together, and be together. Their love would set tidal waves through the Republican party, and they would get backed by every civil rights group known to man. They could do this. They would do this.

"Fitz? You've been quiet for 5 minutes, what's going on?"

Fitz filled her in on his father's visit, and how not even 2 minutes after he left, she showed up. He apologized for not being able to compose himself, and for scaring her.

She sighed, running her hand through his curls. "Well, I'll give the man something, you Grant's sure are persistent. Don't worry though babe, we've got this. Now, you can continue to sulk, or we can go out to lunch and not waste a good reservation".

Fitz laughed, nodding his head in agreement. He leaned up slightly, kissing her. Their lips shaped themselves perfectly around one another, as Olivia's fingers ran their way through Fitz' curly brown hair. He turned her body, facing her to him, holding her in place with his hands firmly on her hips. He yearned for her, every fiber of his being wanted her. He had never been so passionately in love with another person, let alone Mellie. Why couldn't his father seem to understand that?

Olivia giggled, breaking the kiss and holding his face in her hands. Her eyes traveled over his face, taking in the wonder that was hers. Olivia was opening herself up to him, allowing him to see parts of her that she hadn't even known existed. In the year that they were together, Olivia never planned cute lunch dates for Jake. It's as if no one else matters, besides Fitz. He is the only important thing in her life, and without him she can't survive. She comes to this realization at that very moment, while looking at him. She smiles a little, biting her lip.

"Hey, Fitz?"

"Yeah, Livvie?"

"I love you. I'm completely and totally in love with you. When I see you, my heart skips a beat. And when I'm in your presence, my heart races. I am controlled by your every action. And, I just needed you to know that-that I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

He smiled a huge smile; almost as though he was smiling so wide that he would break his face. If he had any doubts whatsoever, they were taken away the moment Olivia declared her love for him. He knew that she loved him, but she had never gone out of her way to say it in such an in depth way. He picked her up, placing her down on her feet. His hand found hers, and they laced their fingers together, as they headed out of the office. Olivia smiled at Lauren in thanks, and they headed to the elevator to start their lunch date.

Olivia refused to let Fitz drive. Mainly, because she wanted to surprise him with where they were going, but there was also the fact that she hated his driving. She thought he drove too fast, always trying to impress her, as if he were one of the racers in the Fast & Furious movies.

She smiled to herself, recalling one time that she let him drive and they ended up getting lost because he sped past their exit, and ending up eating at this quaint little diner. And just like that, a lightbulb went off in her head. She put on her blinker, signaling onto the highway. This didn't go unnoticed by Fitz.

"I thought we were going to my favorite restaurant?"

"Like I said, today is full of surprises."

Fitz pouted, hating not being in the loop. He watched Olivia as she drove with a smile on her face. Her eyes were shining bright and playfully, and he knew she was enjoying herself. And if she was enjoying herself, then he was happy. He felt a smile creep onto his face, as he tilted his head, amazed by the woman next to him. Her brown hair danced around her face as the wind blew through the car, and he instinctively reached across to tuck a piece behind her ear. "Have I ever told you how breathtakingly gorgeous you are?"

"Only every minute of every day."

"Well, good. You deserve to know. So how was work today?"

"Oh, you know. The usual. This guy Reston wants to run for governor, and had a few problems that needed to be fixed. It'll be taken care of by tomorrow morning. Open and shut case."

"I would expect nothing less from New York's finest."

"I'm sorry, did you say New York's finest? I think you meant the United States' finest, you must have forgotten." She said with a sly smirk.

"Hmm, no. I don't think I meant that. In order for that to be true, I would have had to be working the case." Fitz shot back.

Olivia reached across, slapping him on the arm. He laughed, catching her hand, bringing it to his lips. "I'm just joking, Livvie."

"You're lucky we're here, Grant."

She pulled into a gravelly parking lot, as Fitz looked up, taking in the area. The white square building in front of him instantly gave him a homey feeling, and he realized at once where they were. Through the window wafted the smell of bacon and eggs, and his mouth watered in reply. "Is this the same diner we found-"

"After you got lost? The very one."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

He got out of the car, walking over to Olivia's side to open the door for her. They held hands as they walked up the three steps leading into the diner, the bell on the door ringing as it swung open. A woman by the name of Dorothy greeted them and brought them to a booth. They sat down and ordered, devouring homefries, biscuits, pancakes, bacon, and eggs. They laughed and enjoyed themselves, the meeting with Big jerry far from their minds.

Olivia let Fitz drive back, and they decided to go back to his place to lay in bed and nap. Fitz parked in the parking garage, humming as he shut off the ignition and got out of the car. He wrapped his arm around Liv's waist, as they walked through the lobby to the elevator. He pressed the button, waiting for the lift to come to their area. "When we get married," Fitz said with a smile, "how many kids do you want?"

Olivia blushed, looking down at the ground as she smiled. "Hmm. I want four kids. And I want a big house. Out of the city. I want to live somewhere in the middle of nowhere, like Vermont. I want to watch the leaves change with you and our children in our house."

Fitz kissed her forehead, the image playing in his head. Four little children running around a huge backyard, playing in the leaves, as he and Olivia watched from the back porch. The elevator dinged and they got on it, pressed Fitz' floor, and waited.

"Four kids sounds terrific. We're going to need to get started right away." Fitz wrapped his arms around Olivia's waist, burrowing his face in her neck. She squealed in reply, trying to shimmy away from him and hold in the laughter that was trying to fight its way out. He placed light kisses along her neck, as the elevator opened. He looked up, the smile disappearing from his face. She looked at him, and turned to follow his gaze to see Mellie standing outside of his door.

Mellie took in the sight in front of her, stiffening slightly. "Fitzgerald", she said. "I need to talk to you. Alone."

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Olivia. My girlfriend and I have no secrets from one another."

Mellie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Fine. I'm pregnant."